The Town of Canaan Assessment Roll is available online by clicking HERE

To VIEW or PAY Canaan tax bills and payment status online, please click HERE

SPECIAL NOTICE: 2015-2016 Transfer Station Permit Stickers for Canaan Residents Only are now available at Town Hall during office hours (M,W,Thur,F 9:30am-2:30pm and Thur. 6:00pm-8:00pm). By mail: Address to Canaan Town Clerk, PO Box 459, Canaan, NY 12029, include your name, physical address in Canaan, License Plate number and a self-addressed, stamped envelope for return. One Permit Sticker only per residence. Please choose the one vehicle you will be using to bring refuse to the Station. Stickers must be fixed to a passenger side window.

SPECIAL NOTICE: EZ Passes for passenger vehicles only can now be purchased at Town Hall during office hours for $25.


A message from the Town Board!

April 2014

Fellow Canaan Residents:

We are sending the Town Board letter early this year to inform you of various projects and dates that will have an impact on residents this year.

Finance Update

For the third year in a row the Town of Canaan had no increase in its property tax levy. Unlike many other municipalities, Canaan has no debt and is not involved in any litigation. Canaan continues to receive one of the highest scores of any municipality in New York State from the NYS Comptroller’s Office for financial strength. The Town has assigned cash reserves for highway equipment, buildings and Stoddard Field that totaled $273,952 at year end 2013. The Town also has unassigned cash reserves that totaled $262,003 at year end 2013.

Included in this letter is a summary of Canaan’s 2014 Budget. The intent is to show you how much our Town spends or reserves, and where our revenues come from. It also gives you a comparative view of how much we pay in various property taxes.

2014 Budget Summary - click HERE

2014 Assessment Roll Update

In 2010 the Town of Canaan conducted a re-assessment. Since then there have been many changes to the real estate market. The NYS Office of Real Property Tax Supervision (ORPTS) makes up for the changing market by adjusting the Equalization Rate. This year our Assessor’s office has worked closely with ORPTS and the Columbia County Real Property Tax Office to bring our assessments closer to 100% of Market Value. This was NOT a re-assessment but merely an adjustment to the assessments already in place. If an adjustment was made to an individual property, you will be receiving a notice within the first ten days of May.

NYS mandates that Assessment Grievance Day be the fourth Tuesday in May. Our Assessor also works for New Lebanon; therefore Canaan, by Local Law, has moved its Grievance Day to the Thursday immediately following the fourth Tuesday in May. This year’s Grievance Day will be Thursday May 29th.

Shared Services and Inter-Municipal Agreements

The Town of Canaan shares an Assessor with New Lebanon and has a Shared Services Agreement with Austerlitz and Hillsdale for a Code Enforcement Officer/Building Inspector. Each Town recognizes the benefits of this municipal sharing, which include employing well trained full time professionals working with similar areas and issues, increased office and inspection hours and increased revenue and expense savings.

Canaan’s Highway Department also has Inter-Municipal Highway Agreements with New Lebanon, Austerlitz, Chatham and Ghent, bartering labor and equipment time for various projects and emergencies. This saves each town costs from having to hire private contractors or rent certain pieces of equipment in critical times.

Under a recently enacted NYS law the State will rebate taxpayers property tax increases over the next two years if the municipality where they reside is involved in shared service agreements. These agreements also increase the potential for the Town to secure State grant money.

Highway Equipment Update

Last year we replaced our aging large wheel excavator (1991) with a new medium sized track excavator paid for out of the Town’s Highway Equipment Reserve. The Town will also be replacing its oldest large truck (1994) with a new model this September. This purchase will be paid for out of our Highway Equipment Reserve and with Consolidated Highway Improvement Plan (CHIPS) funds. The purchase will have no impact on our property taxes.

County Route 5 Bridge Replacement

The bridge on County Route 5 which spans Stony Kill between State Route 295 and the Town Hall will be replaced this year by Columbia County DPW. County Route 5 at this location will be closed to thru traffic sometime in late May and will not reopen until sometime in September. Detour routes will be posted. All public safety providers have been notified and have alternate routes. Although this will be a summer inconvenience for many residents, the bridge is in serious need of replacement.

Stoddard Field will be open to the public; however areas directly north and south of the bridge, including the Stoddard Field parking lot at times, will be used to store equipment and materials to expedite completion of the project. Traffic access to Town Hall and Stoddard Field will be from the south only. A pedestrian bridge will be constructed over Stony Kill to allow pedestrian access from the north. The Field’s water fountain will be closed for the year. The water line to the fountain from the Town Hall will be moved from underneath the bridge and placed directly under County Route 5 from the Town Hall saving hundreds of feet of waterline. NYSEG will have to move the electric pole near the bridge. The County and Town are negotiating with NYSEG to move the street light on that pole to the pole across from Town Hall, directly over the crosswalk.

Love’s Travel Stops and Stores

As many of you already know Love’s will be locating its new travel center at the B-3 I90 interchange. Construction will begin in May and take several months. The Peaceful Valley Road access on State Route 22 will be moved a few hundred feet north. The ‘old’ section of Peaceful Valley Road will remain open until the new section is completed. Transfer Station access will remain the same.

Love’s is the ninth largest private company in the USA operating over 300 travel facilities in 39 states. This is their first developed site in NY. It will include a large ‘convenience’ store, a Subway, a Wendy’s, a tire store, a Columbia County Tourist Center, gasoline and diesel fuel pumps, and weigh stations, Construction cost is estimated between $6 and $8 million.

Love’s and its associated franchises are expected to employ as many as 75 people, many full time. Estimated sales tax generation is between $3 and $4 million annually; half goes to NYS and half to Columbia County and its municipalities. Love’s will also pay School, County, Town, fire company and ambulance property taxes. The County and Town taxes will start at 50% of assessed value in the first year and graduate up 5% a year over the next ten years to 100%. This exemption is a standard local Real Property Tax exemption “ RPTL 485-b” for commercial and industrial properties that undergo either new construction or alterations.

The Town Board would like to congratulate our Zoning Board of Appeals and our Planning Board for their diligent and meticulous review of this complex application.

Reminders

• To our residents who own dogs, please make sure they have a rabies vaccination and are licensed at Town Hall for both you and your dog’s safety. Cats accessing the outdoors should also have a rabies vaccination.
• For residents using open vehicles to transport garbage to the Transfer Station, State law requires materials be secured or covered so they do not leave the vehicle during transport. Please take the extra time to secure materials so they do not end up on our roads.
• Before making any construction additions/changes to your home or property please check with the Code Enforcement Officer/Building Inspector to see if a building permit, inspection and Certificate of Occupancy are required before the project begins.
• The Town Summer Youth Recreation Program begins June 30th and ends August 8th, Monday-Friday. Sign up at Adams Point Beach 9am-12 noon – bring a copy of your immunization record. The Stoddard Field afternoon portion of the program will be cancelled this year because of the County Route 5 bridge replacement.
• Adams Point Beach hours are Monday-Thursday 12pm to 6pm, Friday 12pm to 7pm, Saturday 10am to 7pm and Sunday 10am to 6pm.
• Canaan has a special program for people over 60 years of age. Seniors meet at the Town Hall every Wednesday from 11am-1pm with lunch provided by Meals on Wheels. The meeting provides many special programs and an opportunity to get to know your neighbors. For more information call Judy @ 518-392-9053.

The Board wishes to extend our thanks to our resourceful, professional Highway Department, our invaluable and knowledgeable employees and Justices, and all our volunteers on various boards and committees for their generous assistance to Town officials and the community. We would also like to thank our volunteer Fire Companies, our ambulance service - Chatham Rescue Squad, and our New York State and Columbia County Police for their continued dedicated service to our community’s’ public safety.

Rick Keaveney
Brenda Adams
Carrie Bither
Alan Miller
David Patzwahl

Questions? Suggestions? Use Contact the Town.

News:
2014 Budget is online

Town Hall:
The Canaan Town Hall is located on County Route 5, just south of the intersection with NY State Route 295. Our physical address is: 1647 County Route 5, Canaan NY The mailing address is PO Box 459, Canaan, NY 12029.

Our physical address is: 1647 County Route 5, just off NY Route 295
The Canaan Town Clerk's hours are:

Monday & Wednesday & Thursday & Friday from 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM
Thursday 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

The Clerk's office can be reached at (518)781-3144, ext. 1. If you have a question about the town, the Clerk probably has the answer! So give her a call or feel free to stop by.